Taiwan to Ban BPA in Baby Feeding Bottles

On 9 April 2013, the revised Sanitation Standard for Food Utensils, Containers and Packages was promulgated by Taiwan’s Department of Health (DOH) as the DOH Food No. 1021300776. According to the new Standard, the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in baby feeding bottles manufactured in or imported into Taiwan will be banned on 1 September 2013.

The main amendments to the Standard are as below:

Ban on bisphenol A in baby feeding bottles (Article 5)
Delete the provisions on polycarbonate (PC) for feeding bottles (Article 6)
Delete the limits on BPA in migration test of Polyphenylene sulfone and polyethersulfone (Article 6)

Amended Article 6 (EN version): the requirements the food utensils, containers and packages shall meet according to the standard tests.

Many countries like USA, Canada, China and all of the EU member states have announced the ban on BPA in some uses, especially the use in making baby bottles. Now, the BPA phase-out program is joined by Taiwan.

The amendments will be effective on 1 September 2013 for the products manufactured or imported in Taiwan. As for the products already in circulation, a grace period will be granted until 1 March 2014.

Form1: Amendments to Article 6 in details:

Raw materials	Material test item and passing standard	Migration test	Note	Migration test
Raw materials	Material test item and passing standard	Solvent	Migration condition	Item and passing standard
Polycarbonate (PC)--feeding bottle	Pb：Not more than 100 ppm. Cd：Not more than 100 ppm.	Water	95°C for 30 min.	Consumption of potassium permanganate：Not more than 10 ppm. Residues after evaporation：Not more than 30 ppm. Bisphenol A：Not more than 30 ppb.
Polycarbonate (PC)--feeding bottle	Pb：Not more than 100 ppm. Cd：Not more than 100 ppm.	4% Acetic acid	60°C for 30 min.	Heavy metals：Not more than 1 ppm（as Pb）. Residues after evaporation：Not more than 30 ppm. Bisphenol A：Not more than 30 ppb.
Polyphenylene sulfone-- feeding bottle	Pb：Not more than 100 ppm. Cd：Not more than 100 ppm.	Water	95°C for 30 min.	Consumption of potassium permanganate：Not more than 10 ppm. Residues after evaporation：Not more than 30 ppm. Bisphenol A：Not more than 30 ppb.
Polyphenylene sulfone-- feeding bottle	Pb：Not more than 100 ppm. Cd：Not more than 100 ppm.	4% Acetic acid	60°C for 30 min.	Heavy metals：Not more than 1 ppm（as Pb）. Residues after evaporation：Not more than 30 ppm. Bisphenol A：Not more than 30 ppb.
Polyethersulfone (PES)--feeding bottle	Pb：Not more than 100 ppm. Cd：Not more than 100 ppm.	Water	95°C for 30 min.	Consumption of potassium permanganate：Not more than 10 ppm. Residues after evaporation：Not more than 30 ppm. Bisphenol A：Not more than 30 ppb.
Polyethersulfone (PES)--feeding bottle	Pb：Not more than 100 ppm. Cd：Not more than 100 ppm.	4% Acetic acid	60°C for 30 min.	Heavy metals：Not more than 1 ppm（as Pb）. Residues after evaporation：Not more than 30 ppm. Bisphenol A：Not more than 30 ppb.